the thing that made me think of that post first was seeing the debate on healthcare from the states. its funny, you see both sides calling the other hitler...
here, lately we mostly do have civilized discussions, it wasnt always that way, but it is now. It is hard to understand where others are coming from, but without knowing that how can anything they say mean anything?
BTW, the seek first to understand then to be understood comes from steven covey, think its part of the 7 habits.